1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to anti-fouling devices for boat hulls and more particularly to a floating enclosure assembly to protect against marine growth for the underbody of a boat moored in a slip.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It has long been established that unprotected boat hulls, when left submerged for periods of time in a body of water, are susceptible to damage through fouling by various marine organisms. A number of inventions have been devised to reduce this damage. For example, many types of permanent hull coatings have been used that act as a physical barrier between a boat's hull and the water immediately surrounding it. Such coatings, however typically do not protect the hull from the accumulation of barnacles and algae. In some cases, such coatings also reduce performance of the vessel due to the weight of the coatings. Other coatings use toxic substances to retard fouling by marine life, but significant environmental drawbacks exist with the use of such toxic coatings, and consequently, such coatings are becoming less practical.
Protectors against marine growth in the form of water impervious envelopes complementary to the underwater shape of a vessel are known. Such envelopes after being positioned around the under body of the vessel are then filled with growth inhibiting liquids which may be only fresh water or water containing anti-fouling chemicals. The problem with such envelopes is that they are difficult to maneuver around the vessel's under body and various schemes have been resorted to to ease this task but no one system has been advantageous than another and all have been burdensome.
Other devices are available that serve to protect a boat hull only while the boat is at rest, since the marine life is not able to afflict damage to the boat's hull when the boat is moving. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,233 to Cox which discloses a portable safety hull cover for a marine vessel which may be quickly deployed from a vessel which has sustained hull damage that destroys the water-tight integrity of the hull which could cause the vessel to flood and ultimately sink. The safety cover is a flexible, waterproof sheet of material sized and shaped for attachably conforming to the vessel bow, sides and keel, with the cover being readily connected to the bow by an attaching noose and deployed against the outside bottom of the vessel. The device has an auxiliary use to form an enclosure around the boat for cleaning the hull.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,094 to Preiser et al discloses a system for discouraging and inhibiting growth of the entire marine fouling community onto a ship hull while it is at rest in brackish or seawater. A pipe or pipes having nozzles distributed therealong, run the length of the keel. Fresh water is supplied to the pipe which flows out the nozzles and up along the hull to create and maintain a moving boundary layer of fresh water. An enclosure also serves to inhibit fouling. An enclosure comprising segmented, overlapping, opaque curtains hang down by weights, from the ship-deck.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,200 to Noble discloses apparatus for protectively enclosing and/or treating the submerged portion of a body floating on a surface of water, such as a boat hull, to prevent or reduce the growth of marine organisms on the submerged portion. The apparatus is formed of a generally rectangular frame having a depending water impervious envelope attached thereto sufficiently large to enclose the submerged portion of the floating body. Pump means are associated with the frame, mounted on the rear tubular member, with the pump adapted to pump water into the side and rear tubular means to cause the rear member to be submerged and moved pivotally downwardly about the floating front member so that the boat can be moved across the submerged rear member into the area defined by the rectangular frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,242 to Bradley discloses a protective hull enclosure for a stationary boat floating in a body of water. A flotation collar forms a first closed figure that approximates the shape of the perimeter of the hull at the surface of the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,244 to Perez-Collazo discloses an anti-fouling protector in the form of a flexible envelope complimentary to the underwater body of a vessel's hull is negatively buoyant and, when not in use, is stored on the bottom of a mooring slip.
Thus there is a need for a hull protection device that significantly reduces the fouling marine life damage of boat hulls and that is also relatively simple to install, operate, and maintain. Such a needed device should be capable of adaptation to a variety of boat hulls, environmentally acceptable, and relatively inexpensive. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.